The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened: A Cookbook Written by an English Courtier and Diplomat

Digby makes use of ingredients including flowers, vegetables, meats, herbs, spices, alcohol, fruits and berries, eggs, milk, grains, and honey.

Foreign influence can be seen in recipes such as "Pan Cotto, as the Cardinals use in Rome", and "A savoury and nourishing boiled, Del Conte di Trino, a Milano," which calls for costly ambergris, dates, raisins, currants and sugar; the bird is boiled inside an ox bladder.

Advice is given that diverges from the recipe headings onto related topics. In "T...